Naruto, nephew to Whirlpool's Red Demon
by Stanislas
Summary: Seal mistress and leet sword-user Akane Uzumaki's long time goal was to resurrect her clan. The Kyuubi's attack and the death of her sister doesn't change this. But now she has to raise her nephew, and see to it he become a ninja worthy of his parents. That could be a bit much to ask for, though, but who knows? And what's this Akatsuki organisation? NarxHin, Sasx? nondouche Sasuke.
1. Chapter 1: That Fateful Night

**Hello, follow Naruto fan fiction aficionados! Welcome to this story, **_**Naruto, nephew to Whirlpool's Red Demon.**_** This is essentially a "want-of-a-nail" story, with an added OC being said nail.**

**Update (From a week after publishing chapter 3): I think it would be good that I mention why I am writing this, so here it is: While I like Naruto in general, I don't like the direction the story took. I think a lot of people feel like I do, if the gigaton of fanfic just on that subject is any indication. What spoil my groove the most is the Naruto/Sasuke angle, and how much Naruto can't give up on Sasuke "PermaFrown" Uchia. Holy crap! Another thing that highly bugs me is the apparent indecision from the author whether Naruto should end with Hinata, or Sakura. In fact, I feel as if the author's has been trolling us for years on that front. Also highly depressing is the complete abandonment Naruto went throught form every single person who should have cared about him (yes, that includes the Third, and is not the only slight the old goat has in my book. No one is perfect, but come on!)**

**So here is how THIS is going to go down: This will NOT turn into an "OMG! Naruto has to bring back his douche-bag emo best-friend who shat on his village and tried to kill him several time!" story, like a majority of the anime/manga was. That doesn't mean I'm going to kill off Sasuke, or something, au contraire. Hint: prepare to read a lot of Uzumaki/Uchia bro-powered badassery. Sakura is going to get blasted in the background, lets hope she likes dog smell and bugs, and she gets used to bowl cuts(I'm of the opinion Lee is far more than she deserves). That said, wanna bet who's going to take her place as the heroine? This jewel from Narutopedia will give you a hint: "During a 2010 interview, Kishimoto stated that many who work with him have told him Hinata would have made a better heroine than Sakura." Nuff' said. Ho, and you can Expect Orochimaru's horor-orgy to be cut pretty damn short, but we'll be keeping the Akatsuki/Obito/Madara triad of antagonists. That abouts covers it up.**

**Be aware that this story will be very light hearted. After all, I'm dealing with the Naruto universe here. It will also contain a lot of swearing. Also, off the top of my head, I can say that this story will include the following with dead set certainty: An eccentric, perverted and highly badass red-haired woman who's leet with both blade and sealing techniques, her crazy, talking and (unfortunately) sentient sword, a handful of people who died in cannon who won't be biting the dust this time, unhealthy amounts of alcohol and tobacco usage, mentions of written pornography galore and… Pandas. Lots and lots of pandas. **

**So here is goes for a synopsis: Akane "Akaoni (Red Demon)" Uzumaki is Kushina Uzumaki's older sister and aunt to Naruto. Following the death of her little sister, and the destruction the Kyuubi caused to Konoha the night of Naruto's birth, Akane decides to retire, settle down in her adoptive village, and raise her nephew the best she can. With a semblance of family, and someone in whom he can fully trust and who will protect him while growing up, how will it turn out for Naruto? And what of Konoha? Well, let's find out, shall we? **

**Note: I've put my previous story for the Narutoverse on indefinite hold. I've kind of lost interest in it. Sorry. As for those who've been following me for my Code Geass stories and wondering what the hell I'm doing, have no fear, I'll also working on the next chapter for that too.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto, nor do I seek to claim ownership of if or any of its related material. If by some odd miracle I make anything off of this, anything with measurable monetary value will be donated to the first panda protection group I can find. **

**So, without further ado, let's roll!**

* * *

**Chapter 1: That Fateful Night **

**Three weeks ago, late night, Konoha, Hokage's office. **

_** "I've received a message from Jiraya-sensei, and it would seem these rumors of a village made up of refugees from the land of Whirlpools in the Easternmost part of the Land of Hot Water are well founded. He says you should go check it out. So, what about it?"**_

"_**If my perverted uncle says it's worth checking, I will. But will it be alright? Kushina is due within the month."**_

"_**I've already taken measures to ensure the seal won't break during her labor. I can assure you it won't, not as long as I'm present. So don't worry."**_

_**Don't worry…don't worry…**_

**Present day, over the forests of Fire-Country, a little under a hundred miles north-east of Konoha. **

"_Looking back, I should have worried a whole lot more"_ Akane thought as she held on for dear life onto Kaze-kun's back as the giant wind avatar in panda-form flew with extraordinary speed towards Konoha. Her spiky, bright red hair that was tied at the nape of her neck into a ponytail reaching the middle of her back was completely thrown back by the force of the wind. This revealed the large black eye-patch that covered most of the left half of her face. Her one exposed eye, one with a vivid orange iris, was squinting as she looked over Kaze-kun's head with it.

She was wearing black, front laced battle boots, black cargo pants, and a black flak vest over a burgundy long sleeved shirt with the sleeves folded up to under her elbows. She had black fingerless gloves that extended to the middle of her forearms. She had a large, katana-like sword on her back, with the hilt over her left shoulder, and this was attached to a wide, brown weapon's belt she wore diagonally from her left shoulder to her right hip. Over the sword was a long, cylindrical black case, three quarters the length of the sheath. On the part of he belt over her shoulder there was a Leaf headband plate attached, across the front side were numerous pouches, and on the right hip rested a large, earthenware jug. In her lower right earlobe was a single gold earring.

A couple hours ago, she had been about to cross into the Land of Hot Water when she had felt _it_: that burning, hateful and unmistakable chakra. She had felt it only once before, when she had assisted in transferring that _thing _from Lady Mito into her little sister. Back then it had been subdued, controlled with a complex set of seals. But now, it was flaring up free and unrestricted, so much that even a thousand miles away she could feel it distinctly. If she had needed another clue as to what it meant, which she didn't, the earthquake that soon followed would have been it.

She was almost there. But now, somehow, even thought they were supposed to get closer to its source, she could feel the Kyuubi's chakra quickly fading. It meant two thing: Either the beast was running away from them faster than Kaze-kun could fly, or it had somehow been… subdued.

"Damn it!" She swore. "If you're still alive, Minato, I'm going to beat you to an inch of your life!"

Shortly after, her adoptive village came into view, and Kaze-kun quickly decelerated.

"You could still have gone for a little while." Akane said, understandably anxious to get to the Village. The giant, black clothed panda pointed right under them, and said, in his booming and even avatar voice "Your pandarean side-kick is in the clearing under us. He seems exhausted, and in very low spirits. Highly unusual. There are also lots of people with noticeable chakra signatures all around the clearing."

Akane peered over Kaze-kun's right shoulder. They were about five hundred feet in the air, but she could clearly see a huge clearing that had been recently made amongst the trees, as well as the trail of destruction leading _to _it, starting roughly in Konoha's direction. Indeed, she saw a large pandarean, wearing a conical straw hat and green clothes, who was sitting in the middle of the clearing, next to a very large tree stump and…something the size of an average adult woman that was completely covered with a rectangular white blanket. A feeling of dread began to fill Akane.

"Kaze-kun," She said, her voice trembling slightly, "Take me down."

"Right in the middle, or outside the ridge?" Kaze-kun asked, "The ninja are on high alert, and might attack us if-"

"I DON'T CARE!" Akane yelled, "DO WHAT YOU WANT, JUST GET US DOWN!"

Silently, Kaze-kun did so, gliding down in a spiral movement, reaching the ground just beyond the edge of the clearing at the point furthest from Konoha. There, Akane jumped off his back.

"Thank you, Kaze-kun." She said, not looking at him, "I'd be grateful if you could stay here just for a little while. I might need you soon."

"Very well, Aka-sama." Kaze-kun said.

Akane moved forward, towards the center of the clearing, as if in a trance. Her eye was locked right on it. When she came out of the trees, a ninja wearing the uniform of the Konoha ANBU appeared right next to her, grabbing hold of her right arm.

"I'm sorry, Uzumaki-san, but the Third as given us strict orders not to let-"

That was as far as the man got, because it's hard to speak when you get your nose broken by a chakra enhanced hit. Akane had never even glance towards his direction.

"I don't give a damn fuck what the Third says right now." She said in a steely, even, and strangely calm tone, eyes still fixed forward, "If anymore ANBU try to stop me, they're dead." This was meant for the colleagues of the man crouching on the ground and holding his hand over his bleeding nostrils.

They all took her seriously, preferring to face the Third later than the "Akaoni" now, and no other shinobi tried to stop her as she made her way towards the large tree stump and the sitting pandarean. She didn't know how long it really took her to get there, but it felt to her like hours. As she got closer, the pandarean, who was hunched against the stump, holding a long bamboo stick stuck vertically in the ground, turned his large head toward her. Akane's orange eye locked with his black rimmed green ones.

"Liu," She said, "where is Kushina?" She didn't look at the white blanket.

"I'm sorry, Akane-chan." The pandarean said sadly, "She's right here. They've taken Minato away. He didn't make it either. They said they'd be coming back for her, so I stayed to watch over her."

"You've got to be kidding me." She whispered, looking at the form under the white blanket. She slowly walked over next to it, and let herself fall on her knees. With a trembling hand, she raised the blanket at the point that was over the form's head. She choked on her breath as she did so, looking at the now lifeless face of her little sister. She let the brim of the blanket go, and her arms hung limply to her sides.

"What the hell kind of sick joke is this?" Akane said, tears welling up in her good eye. "Didn't you promise you'd help me re-establish the Uzumaki clan?" The tears fell down her right cheek. "Didn't we swore we'd both live until we'd be all old and wrinkly, imouto?"

Kushina, of course, didn't answer. Akane, still crying, stared at her little sister's face, which wore just a bit of a sad smile. Akane then put at hand were Kushina's belly was. It was flat.

"Liu." She said, not looking at him. "Where is it?"

"Huh?" the pandarean looked up.

She turned her head towards him, a fierce look in her eye.

"Where. Is. Her. CHILD?"

* * *

**Shortly after, Konoha, Council's Chamber ***

"Is that _thing_… really sealed into this child, Lord Third?"

The question was asked by one of Konoha's civilian council members, and was directed towards Hiruzen Sarutobi, Third Hokage, who has been forced out of retirement by the sudden and unexpected death of his successor in defense of Konoha. The aging shinobi was standing in the middle of the floor, next to the crying infant who was the focus of the current meeting, and he was smoking his trademark pipe.

Hiruzen let out a puff of smoke, "Yes, it would seem so. The Fourth sealed the Kyuubi inside of this infant, losing his life in the process, but safeguarding our village from most certain destruction."

"A damn shame he had to die for it." Another member of the council said. "So young, too."

"What should be done with the child?" The first council member asked.

"Do you even have to ask?" Another said, "We can't let Minato's sacrifice be in vain. We have to insure that demon never again threatens our village. We must kill it!"

"It?" Hiruzen raised an eyebrow at the councilor, "You mean 'him'. While the Kyuubi has indeed been sealed inside of him, this child still remains as human as me and all of you."

"How can you be so certain, Sarutobi-sama?" another member of the council asked.

"Simply because I am." The Third said. "I am familiar with the method the fourth used to seal the beast, and he himself assured me that the child would be able to live a normal life while keeping the Kyuubi in check and protecting us from it."

This, of course, was a bluff. Minato never had the time to fully explain to his predecessor what he intended to do, but Sarutobi was certain the Fourth would never had sealed the Kyuubi inside of his own child if he didn't at least_ believe_ all he just said was true.

Hiruzen's old teammate, Danzo, then spoke up.

"If I may, I think the council is looking at this the wrong way." The bandaged man said. "Yes, the boy carried a beast of immense power, and we all witnessed it. But instead of fearing it, I think we should use it!"

"You think anyone can control such power?" Another council member said, "Sorry if I don't share your optimism, Danzo. And what he third said about the Fourth's plan might be true, but while I am no professional in the matter, isn't it true that all seal can, in one way or another, be broken? If that were to happen, what then?"

Hiruzen let out another puff of smoke, "I won't lie to you, I also think that possibility exist."

The tension in the room skyrocketed.

"Then that's decided," The same councilor who had brought up the infanticide, "we have to kill the child in order to-"

"However!" The Third cut the councilor, his voice booming across the room, "I must tell you who this child's mother is before any more of you call for his death."

"What this has to do with anything?"

"It has to with a LOT of things." The Third said. "Most importantly the life expectancy of all of us should this child be killed."

"Very well, then." Another councilor said, "Enlighten us: who is the child's mother?"

The Third let out another puff of smoke, "This child's mother, is Uzumaki Kushina." He said slowly.

Understanding dawned on the people present, who except for a few, had no idea of this.

"T-then," the first councilor said, now quite nervous, "That means this child's aunt is…"

"ME!" A voice boomed form outside, just before the chamber's doors exploded inwardly into a million splinters of wood. In stepped one very pissed Akane. Hey orange eye was glowing, and an ominous red glow was somehow shinning through her eye patch.

"Yes, you." Hiruzen said flatly. Members of his personal guard ANBU started moving towards the woman. The Third signaled them to stop, just in time. He didn't need to lose more men like is, not when he could talk down the woman. Probably.

"W-what is the meaning of this!" An outraged council member mustered the courage to speak up, "This is an official, and urgent, council meeting! And how did you get past the guards?

"Sorry, that wasn't written on the door. As for the guards outside, they are all under a little paralysis seal." Akane said offhandedly, then turned back to Sarutobi, "_Lord Third_." She said. "And all of you _respected_ council members," She added, a falsely serene smile making his way on her lips, "While I understand you have a lot to do with what happened tonight, I have come here to make a simple request." The smile disappeared, replaced by an angry mouth full of pointy teeth, this accompanied by a shadow falling on her face, and the appearance of a horn on her right forehead. "GIVE. ME. MY. NEPHEW!"

"_You've improved your 'demon head' jutsu, I see."_ Hiruzen mused.

"You can't just barge in here and start requesting something like this." A council member said, and went on, apparently forgetting he person he was talking to had taken out a dozen ANBU like hey were rent-a-cop. "Especially since we haven't finished deciding of what to do with the child!"

"Excuse me?" Akane said slowly, raising an eyebrow, "You think you've got ANY right whatsoever to decide what's going to happen to my barely a day old, newborn, orphan nephew while I LIVE AND BREATHE!?"

"Of course we have that right!" another council member said, "You must have seen yourself the destruction caused by that beast! I'm sorry for the lost of your sister, but she's not the only one who lost her life tonight, and the child is a real threat to this village! The third himself said there is a risk the demon may break out!"

"I. Don't. Fucking. Believe this!" She turned toward the Third.

"Now, now." Hiruzen said, "Please calm down, Akane, and listen." She nodded, and calmed a little bit, but still eyed the room with the outmost suspicions,"That goes for all of you also, by the way!" He said to all the people in the room, "Hum hum." He cleared his throat, "While I did indeed say that yes, there is a risk that the Kyuubi breaks out of his cage, I was going to add, just before you barged in missy, that if the child were to be put in the care of a knowledgeable seal master, one that would recognize any signs of the seal breaking, the risks would be virtually nullified."

"Huh, when you say 'sealmaster', you mean me, right?" Akane asked, pointing towards herself.

"Who else?" Hiruzen said. "And I have in my possession one of two original copies of Uzumaki Kushina's legal will, the other one being in miss Akane's possession, the states that, should anything happen to her, her son's legal guardian would be her sister, Akane Uzumaki. Thus, the matter of what happens to the boy is settled. In fact this meeting was to inform you of this and the burden the boy will carry, because I believe it was you right to know about it as representatives of the village's people. Not actually to discuss what to do with him. Anyone has anything to add?"

Only one did, and it was none other than Danzo.

"Do you intend to stay in the village and raise the boy here, Miss Akane?"

"Yes." She said. "Were else would I go? There's a price on my head almost everywhere else. Besides, I was born and mostly raised here. I consider this my home too. I was actually planning to settle in more permanently."

"Then that settle this mater." Hiruzen said. "I believe it worth mentioning that the Fourth strongly hoped that this child would be considered a hero by the people of the village. I realize, following the outburst of some of you, that this might be harder that he believed. As for my part, I at least hope none of you will be so unwise as to take any form of, lets say, _ extreme __measures_ against this child. Not as much for the boy's safety, but for _yours and the rest of the shinobi of this village's!_ If you still have any misgiving, just keep in mind that miss Akane here is the one who killed the Third Raikage, a man who fought to a standstill ten thousand shinobi for two whole days."

_"Yeah" _Akane thought_, "Never mind the fact that the man was already greatly weakened, and I came this close to dying myself. Great example."_

"Now then," the Third said, and then took a blanket out of his robes, picked up the boy and wrapped him in it. "Here." He said as he handed him to Akane.

"Thank you." She said.

"Swing by my office tomorrow morning." He told her. "I'm going to be busy, but I'll make time for you, there are things we need to discuss."

"Very well." She turned and started towards the door, then stopped, "Say, did all of the group who was staying at my mom's old place got out alright? I heard it got blown up."

"I believe all of Zhao-san's kin probably made it out alright." Hiruzen said, "Not only did they make it, they helped evacuate a lot of people. I saw Honoka earlier, but I'm not sure for Toshiro and Shinn, however."

"I see." Akane said, exiting the room, "I'll see you tomorrow, then."

* * *

**A few minutes later, far western side of Konoha, street leading to the former site of Akane's mother's house.**

Akane made her way through the ruined streets of her adoptive village. The sheer amount of destruction and deaths was staggering. Looking down at her now sleeping nephew, she felt a pang of guilt. It caused her to recall a similar scene, thought much worse, so, so long ago it seemed now.

_"Damn it!"_ She thought, _"If only I hadn't gone off on that goose chase." _ She looked up straight ahead, where the home she was born in used to be. It had been surrounded by trees, but already she could see that a large area around the site had been cleared right off. _"You better be alright, Tosh._" She thought, _ "I think I'm gonna break down if you also died._ "

As she entered the clearing, she realized what probably made it: A humongus tail swipe. All the debris, a mix of building rubbles, shattered trees, rocks and earth, were all in the same area in a wide pile as if pushed there by a giant broom.

Staring at the desolation, she felt her legs becoming weak. She wasn't especially tired physically, but she was a mess mentally. She was about to let herself fall down when she heard a familiar voice to her left.

"Hey there, Aka-chan."

Akane turned around to face the owner of the voice. It belonged to a man, six feet tall, his short, spiky hair a deep red, thought not quite as vivid as Akane's. He looked to be in his mid twenties, thought his real age was almost twice that. His eyes, which normally had large, circular glasses before them, were a deep vermillion. He had a large, medium length goatee, that was usually neatly combed, but was now a mess, as was the rest of him: His clothes were torn, one of his baggy trouser leg's having been half ripped off, and his shirt's hem half hung out of his pants. He was holding himself up with a cane he held with his right hand, and her had a limp on the leg of that side as he walked towards her.

"Toshiro…" Akane said.

"That furball did one hell of a mess." Toshiro said with a sad smile, "I- I'm sorry about Kushina. I don't really know what to say."

Akane stepped towards Toshiro, and leaned against his front, their cheek touching, Akane being a inch taller than him.

"Then don't say anything, baka, and just hold me." She said.

So that's what he did for a minute, doing the best he could to hold her with one hand while balancing his weight on his cane. Eventually, she pulled away slightly, and started hammering her right fist on his chest, saying "Damnit! Damnit! Damnit!".

Although thankful Akane didn't use the same, chakra enhanced strength she used while fighting, he still winced.

She sniffed, "This is so messed up!"

"Y-yeah, I know." Toshiro said, then he looked down at the now stirring bundle Akane still held with her left arm. "Hmm, Is that…?"

Akane pulled away fully from Toshiro, and nodded. "Ys, that's Kushina's son."

"Not even a day old, and losing both his parents" Toshiro said, scratching e back of his head. "Like you said, this is messed-up. So, you intend to raise him?"

Akane nodded again, "I don't know how good a parent-figure I can be, but I'll do my best to take care of him. I owe Kushina at least that. He's family."

"That he is." Tosh said, "So, does he already have a name?"

Akane thought for a moment, then remembered a discussing she had had with the boy's parents and her uncle.

"He does." She said. "His name is Naruto."

* * *

End of chapter 1

**So yeah, that stuff just flew right out of my head. Next chapter shouldn't take too long.**

**If you liked the chapter, please leave a review! **

*** Anyone know if there are any actual scene in the anime/manga in which we see the Konoha council deciding Naruto's fate? I've been looking for one, but I can't find it .**

**Until next time, keep it real, folks!**


	2. Chapter2:Retired but Extremely Dangerous

**Hey readers! Here is the next chapter of **_**Naruto, Nephew to Whirlpool's Red Demon**_**!**

**Thanks for the people who followed/favored this story already. I have added some stuff to the first chapter already. **

**Here is some more! **

**Disclaimer: See author's notes in chapter 1**

* * *

**Chapter 2: Retired but Extremely Dangerous**

**Late morning after the Kyuubi's attack, former site of Akane's mom's house.**

Akane was awoken by the sounds of what could only be described as a commotion coming from outside the tent she had been sleeping in. She turned her head to her right, and saw Toshiro lying next to her, fast asleep and mouth wide open with a little droll leaking out from a corner. Turning to her left, she saw that the spot were Honoka, Toshiro's sister, had been sleeping was empty. Naruto was gone, too.

She sat up, the sheet covering her falling off and revealing her f-cup sports bra, which was the only thing she wore as a top. She wasn't worried, if anything had happened, she'd have sensed it. Speaking of which, she had an extremely faint recollection of punching someone earlier, and felt she did so because she had been annoyed, not threatened. What was that about?

She reached behind her, and grabbed her cargo pants which were thrown over a large, red chest that had the Uzumaki clan's crest emblazoned on the lid. That chest had been one of the very few things that had been rescued from her mother's home before its destruction, and Akane was glad for it. She'd have to thank Mei later for getting it out.

She got up, and quickly put on her pants before exiting the tent. She first looked in direction of the commotion. It was coming from the path that used to lead to her house, where a group of what looked like civilians was gathered. Blocking their path were several Konoha ANBU, and three pandareans in battle gear. They looked like they had things under control for the moment, so Akane looked around to see if she could find Honoka and her nephew. It didn't take long. The 16 years old, red haired girl was sitting under a tree, apparently feeding Naruto a bottle of formula. Right next to them was Liu, laying his back against the ground, his hat on top of his belly, asleep and snoring loudly.

"Finally awoke, Aka-san."

Akane turned towards the speaker. He was a tall, thin man who had long reddish-brown hair that was held into a tight ponytail tied right behind his head. From a distance, his eyelids looked closed, but Akane knew they actually weren't, this was just the way he was normally. If you looked at him straight in the eyes a few feet from him, you could just catch a glimpse of purple pupils.

"Hey there, Shinn." Akane said."Mind explaining me what this is about?" She said, pointing to the group of civilians.

"Weeeell," Shin said, "it seems that late last night, some time after you went to sleep, the word got around the village that your nephew was the jinchūriki of the Kyuubi. And what would you know, some people around this town are sore against that furball to the point they want to snuff the fledging life out of your nephew."

"Ho really?" Akane raised an eyebrow.

Shinn nodded. "Yup. Found out while checking out what was left of my shop last night. A group of civilians tried to jump me. Luckily, by that point old coot Sarutobi was already aware of the situation, and I crossed the path of a few ANBU looking out for trouble. They escorted me here, and never really left. Shortly after, Cao-san and his bros arrived, not looking amused at all."

"Why didn't anyone wake me up?"

"I tried." Shinn said, "But you mumbled something rude, and punched me!" at that, he pointed to his left cheek, which was slightly red and swollen.

"Ah!" Akane said, understanding dawning on her face, "So that's what it was! Good to know it was you then, I thought I punched some poor fellow who didn't deserve it!"

"And how exactly do I deserve to be punched!?"

"Because you're a shifty-eyed coward that makes my skin crawl?"

"…..What pisses me off is that you're not even worried I might provide you with bad ink as revenge one day."

"Of course I'm not worried." Akane said, waving him off, "After all, you can't afford to lose your biggest customer, especially now. Isn't that right, Mr. My-ink-shop-is-a-pile-of-rubble? Anyway, talk to you later, got some civilians to scare off."

As Akane walked towards the group of civilians and it's retaining cordon, she could see that Shinn spoke the truth and that, indeed, the Pandareans carpenters had really-not-amused look on their faces. Especially their 'chief', the imposing Cao Zhao. Akane had never met an adult male pandarean that was under six feet tall, but Cao stood at over seven and a half. The large anthropomorphic* panda had a long goatee that reached the base of his neck, and he had a great mane of wavy black hair that reached under his shoulder. His huge arms were folded over his chest, and he was staring down the angry civilians.

"Why are you protecting that demon?" one of them asked, obviously agitated.

"I am not protecting any demon," Cao said quite calmly, "I am protecting an infant. And the reason for this is the same one that made me and brothers save you and your children from that falling building; I dislike seeing innocents killed without reason."

"But that thing killed my wife!"

"The Kyuubi was the cause of that, and since your wife is dead, maybe your place should be with your grieving children instead of here. In fact, I am sure all of you have better things to do. Please go before someone gets hurt."

"You should listen to him," Akane said as she walked up to them, "I know you people are angry at the Kyuubi, I am too, but my nephew isn't responsible for what happened."

"How can you even consider him family with that thing inside of him?" another civilian said.

There might have been worst things to say, but if there was, they were very few indeed.

"Huh?" she said, her 'demon-head" jutsu activating, and a vein on her temple started bulging, "Sorry, didn't hear that right, that sounded like the very stupid last words of a very dead man. Care to repeat what you just said?"

"I-I.." The man stuttered.

"Listen carefully, you damn nimrods," She said, "I don't give a flying fuck what you think of my nephew, or what's inside of him. I lost my little sister last night, so don't expect any pity from me. And I didn't have breakfast yet, hell, not even my morning cigarette, so I'm pretty fucking cranky right now! You want to vent your frustrations with senseless violence? **Fine**! I'll take all of you on with my bare hands! I'll rip your fucking vertebral columns out of your arses!"

"Uzumaki-san!" Someone said from behind her. She knew who it was before even turning around.

"Kakashi Hatake" Akane said as she turned around, "I wondered when you'd show up. Got a message for me from the Third, I presume?"

"Indeed." The silver haired shinobi said in his usual monotone voice, "He asks you to come and see him right away, he wants to talk to you ASAP about urgent matters."

"I bet he does."

The group of civilians, whom Kakashi's appearance gave the time to collectively decide they liked their vertebral column were it was and that this crazy woman was way too scary, all turned around and started to walk away, some of them throwing the woman dirty looks all the same.

"Tsk." Akane said as she glared back at them, "Bunch of spineless cowards." She turned back towards Kakashi, "Go tell the Third I'll be there right away. I don't need any escorting, if I find more of these imbeciles, I'll just knock them unconscious. "

"…Very well." Kakashi said, shunshining away.

Akane went back to her tent, and finished dressing. She was done, and lighting a cigarette, when Toshiro awoke.

"Hu?" He blinked a few times, "You going somewhere?"

"Got to go see the third." Akane said as she took a drag, "Some stuff happened after we went to bed last night. Shinn will explain it to you. Honoka's outside with Naruto under Liu's tree. Keep an eye on them, I won't be long."

After throwing her weapon belt on, she left the tent.

* * *

**Five minutes later, Hokage Tower, the Hokage's office. **

"In retrospect, I think it's not surprising something like is happened," Sarutobi said, "the destruction of the village, and the deaths that have come with it, seems to have been compounded for its inhabitants by the death of the Fourth. "The Third sighed, "Drastic measure might be needed in the future if they don't calm down. I refrained from telling the populace that Naruto was Minato's son for the boy's safety. You had enough enemies as it was, I thought it best to try to shield you and the boy from Minato's. I'm not so sure that was a good judgment call now. "

"At least you're trying to use yours, Hiruzen," Akane said, standing by the office's broken window, her cigarette smoke flying away through it. "Those who want to arm my nephew certainly aren't. And I'm not so sure that telling them that Naruto was Minato's son would have done much good." She turned around, "I heard about your wife. I'm sorry."

Hiruzen didn't answer right away, "Don't be." He said after a moment, "While I wish she was still here, she and I knew what we were getting into when we married, that we both could die at any moment and be separated from one another. Just like Minato and your sister did. She wouldn't want me to mope over it, and most certainly not blame it on a new-born."

"It's just that, maybe if I had waited before setting out-"

"Even if you had been there," Hiruzen said, cutting her off, "it might not have changed much."

"…how so?"

"Biwanko, Taiji and the ANBU team I had guarding the safe house where Kushina was to give birth were not killed by the Kyuubi. They were killed by someone with high ninja skills."

Akane's eye narrowed. "What are you getting at?"

"I believe the Kyuubi didn't just break out of his seal, but rather, was _pulled _out of your sister. Intentionally. What's more, whoever did this was skilled enough that Minato couldn't prevent it."

"Holy shit." Akane whispered.

"You can say that again. I also have an unreliable report from now dead ANBU who swore he saw the Fourth briefly engage a masked individual within the village. The ANBU said the masked person was brought down by the Fourth, but we found no body where the fight supposedly took place."

"So what you're basically saying is that there is a person still out here who was able to pull off all of this?" Akane said.

"Yes." Hiruzen said. "We can't be sure of anything, but we should at least assume that such an individual did something like this for a reason, and, if his objectives weren't met, that he will try again."

"Nice way of telling me to watch my back, Hiruzen." Akane said.

"Humpf." The third said, "Another problem is that the attack has gravely weakened the village. Never mind the death of the Fourth, we lost many of our best and more of our promising shinobis. Not to mention the blow to the economy. We might have had peace since the end of the Third War, but this relied in great part on our strength compared to that of the other Hidden Villages. That one or all of them would choose now to attack us would not surprise me one bit."

"Yeah, I know all that." Akane said. "My own country was victim of something similar, remember? So what do you want me to do? Take your place? Cuz the answer is hell no."

Hiruzen actually laughed. "Ho dear no." He said," Well, maybe I do _want _you to, but you can't. There is no way that the council, the population or most of our ninjas would approve you as Hokage. Now now at least."

"So what was your point?"

"My point is that we need to take measures to restore Konoha's strength." Hiruzen said. "So, I'll cut to the chase now, and ask you: do you still plan on resurrecting the Uzumaki clan?"

Akane stared at Hiruzen for a moment, then smiled sadly "Of course I do, I've been working on this for years." Akane then scratched the back of her head, "It's just that Kushina was a big part of it, for the longest time, she was the only one who supported me in this. We also wanted to wait until we had gathered more members, if we could find and convince them. And good luck to us to get the permission to set up a clan from the council now."

"Yet you were motivated enough to go and try to do just that, despite any misgiving I know you had in regard to Kushina giving birth. You're not going tell me that burning determination of yours has burnt out now of all times, are you?"

"More like temporarily quenched." Akane said. "I mean, I'm going to have my hands full for a while now."

"All of us are," Hiruzen said, "Well, if you still want to revive your clan in Konoha, I believe I'll be able to help you greatly with this. It might take a sometime and a lot of pushing, but I believe I can convince the Council to approve the re-establishment of the Uzumaki clan."

Akane raised an eyebrow, "You really think you can pull that off?"

"Like I said, the village needs power. You've already got the land, you've got the name and the knowledge, and you're ridiculously filthy rich, if that report I got on the contents of your bank account, sorry, accounts, is to be trusted. All they need to give you is a vote, and Konoha has got itself a clan of elite Seal Masters."

"I name only, at least for a quite a while." Akane said, then smiled, "Very well, if you take care of the Political Bullshit, I'll take care of everything else to set up a clan. My clan."

"Good." Hiruzen nodded, "Now, to make sure you have the time needed to properly do that, I'm ready to take you off of active duty, if that's alright with you."

"Early retirement, huh?" Akane said, "Very well, sounds good, at least for now"

As soon as she said that, the sword scabbard on Akane's back started shaking. She sighed, and after making a few hand signs, a seal appeared on the scabbard, and it disappeared in a puff of smoke, taking the sword along with it.

"Perfect." Hiruzen nodded, and reached down to open one of the drawers of his desk. From it, he took out he folder containing Akane's shinobi records, along with a large rectangular rubber stamp and an equally large pad of red ink, "Funny enough, I have wanted to use this for the longest time. Never thought I would after Minato became Hokage."

He slammed the stamp on the pad, making sure e got enough ink on it, and then slammed it on top of Akane's folder. He removed the rubber stamp, and three capital letters were revealed. Inside of a red rectangular frame, there leters formed the word-

"Red?" She read, and looked up quizzically at Hiruzen.

"That's actually R.E.D., and stands for 'Retired but Extremely Dangerous'. Just a coincidence that the first one I get to use it on is you, of all people."

"No shit? You had this for a long time?"

"Yes." The third nodded.

"How many people has it been used for?"

"Including you? Two." Hiruzen said.

"Who's the other one?"

"Me. Minato was the one who used it."

* * *

**A few minutes later, back at the site of Akane's mother's house. **

When Akane made it back, she found the ANBU were still there, but they had retreated under the trees surrounding the dirt field. The Pandareans, including Liu, and Akane's kin were gathered in a circle, someone, most likely Mei, having whipped up some form of breakfast.

"Hey there, guys." She said as she approached them, "there is some left for me, I hope?"

"Of course," Toshiro said, handing her a bowl of white rice along with a pair of chopsticks, "Mei-san is making some soup right now."

"Vegetable?"

"How did you guess?" Toshiro said with a smile.

"With great ease." Akane said, humoring her lover's sarcasm as she sat down, "Good news, Tosh." She said after a few bites, "Looks like we're going to resurrect the Clan after all. Hiruzen made a deal with me."

"Hey, that's awesome."

She nodded. "We're going to be busy from now on."

Just then, there was a huge racked form inside her tent, sort-of similar to the noise a 'runaway' washing machine makes. All of them turned towards it.

"Ho, that's right," Toshiro said, then turned towards Akane, who was sweat dropping, "why did you seal-send Jan back here?"

"Because he's crazy?"

Just then, something red slashed through the roof of the tent and flew up in the skies for a couple hundred feet, spinning madly. That something then fell back down and planted itself tip first just behind Akane. It was her sword, which had gotten free of its scabbard. The gleaming red blade of the sword, wider than a katana and it's curvature less pronounced, had two set of saw teeth-like notches, one on the cutting side near the guard, the other on the non-cutting side close to the tip. Just after the guard, a brilliant red oval stone was set into the blade, and was surrounded by a band of gold-ish metal. The gem was glowing.

"**You've got a lot of nerve, woman!"** The sword _said_, in a surprisingly deep voice, **"How the heck you figure you're getting off from active duty without consulting ME first, huh? There's two of us to his outfit, unless you forgot!"**

"Ho yeah," Akane said to Toshiro, "I'm officially retired. It's kind of neat actually, the third used this big ass stamp that-"

"**Did you listen to me at all, woman!"** The sword shrieked.

"Yeah, yeah, I'm listening to you." Akane said, "I'm not going to be retired forever, just long enough to properly set up our clan again, and see to it that Naruto over there is properly raised while I am at it. We'll be back to doling out death in new and interesting ways in a decade or so."

"**A decade!?"** the sword said, sounding positively outraged, **"What the fresh hell am I supposed to do during that time!?"**

"I dunno, stay sharp?" Akane said, eating the rest of her rice, "Anyway, it's a done deal. If you don't like it, I can go and reseal you in the volcano on Tian Gui**, where you can wait for another badass like me for another thousand year."

"**Tsk."** The sword said, **"Fine. But you better keep me polished, you hear!"**

"One hundred percent." Akane said, putting her bowl and chopsticks aside. She got up, and stretched. "Now, got a funeral to prepare." She said dryly. "Liu, you said you put Kushina in the cave back there?"

The large pandarean nodded. "It's cool in there, so I thought it best."

"Thank you." Akane said. "Meng," She asked another Pandarean, who had huge sideburns and who was one of Cao's three brothers. "Can you please find me some decent firewood? Enough to build a good sized pyre?"

The pandarean nodded.

"And Cao, I know this is sudden," She said to the Large Pandarean, "But could you and Mao start looking into building me a new house as soon as you can? We're going to need something way bigger than my mom's house, and money isn't an issue."

"We'll get started on it right away." Cao nodded, "Shinn san, do you still have some paper and ink we could use?"

"I've got some that I always keep on myself," Shinn said. "It's not much, but it should do for rough sketches."

"Great." Mao nodded.

* * *

**Same day at dusk, outskirt of the Site of Akane's mother's house. **

All of the Pandareans and the Uzumaki in Konoha, dressed in black, had gathered in a small clearing that used to be behind Akane's mother's house. In that clearing, off to the side, were buried the ashes of both her mother, and grand-mother. And soon, those of Kushina would be as well.

It pissed Akane to no end; Kushina should have been at least buried alongside Minato, but there was no way they could justify it without coming out about the two's secret marriage.

Because of the mood of the village towards her and her kin, and also because all morticians were going to be busy for the next few weeks, Akane had prepared Kushina's body herself. Kushina, now washed and dressed in a snow white kimono, was lying on her funeral pyre. Akane was holding the torch, and was about to set it on fire when someone spoke behind her.

"I'm sorry we're late, Uzumaki sensei!"

Akane turned around, and smiled. "I wasn't expecting you to come, so that's alright, Guy."

Might Guy, one of Akane's first, and so far last, genin team was standing there. He had thankfully traded his tight green spandex suit for a black haori and hakama ensemble.

"This is the least I could do." Guy said, bowing, "I came here with your sister's former teammates."

Coming up from behind Guy were two women, both in black kimonos. One of them had long grayish-black hair and very dark blue eyes, and her name was Mikoto Uchiha. The other one had equally long, shinny dark purple hair, and pale eyes without pupils. Her name was Hanako Hyuuga. Mikoto was helping Hanako walk, her swollen belly making it clear she was in the late stage of a pregnancy.

"Mikoto-san, Hanako-san." Akane said, nodding towards them.

"Akane-san," Mikoto said, "I hope you won't mind if we witness the funeral."

"I won't." Akane said. "I'm sure Kushina would have liked you being there. Come. I was just about to set fire to the pyre."

The two women stepped up between Akane and Toshiro, who was holding Naruto in one arm, the other resting on his cane. Guy stood behind them. Akane stepped up to the pyre, and lighted it with her torch.

She stood there for a while, watching the fire spread. "This is goodbye, Imouto." Akane said softly, "At least until it's my turn."

She stepped back next to Mikoto, who had been glancing at Naruto. The Uchiha woman then turned to look directly at the now brightly burning pyre. Doing so, she spoke, "When I last saw Kushina, she told me how it would be nice if our two sons became friends when they grew up, and I agreed with her. Akane-san, I know what is inside of him, and while I can't speak for my husband, for my part I still hope that they will."

Akane eyed Mikoto for a moment, "Did…Kushina ever tell you two that she-?"

"Now," Mikoto cut her off, conspicuously quickly, "If only Hanako was also expecting a son, then the three of them could have made a kick as squad and give Ino–Shika–Chō a run for their money!"

"Well, it's not my fault I'm expecting a girl," Hanako said, rubbing her belly.

"I wasn't implying it's a bad thing." Mikoto said, "And who knows? Maybe my son and yours will compete to win your daughter's heart."

"Eh." Akane said, "That's be just great."

* * *

**End of Chapter 2**

**Hope you people like the second chapter. Will be working on my next Code Geass chapter for the next week or so, and then back to this.**

**Again, if you liked the story, favorite and follow it away! And don't forget to leave me a review! Reviews are the fuel of my creativity!**

***Note: Someone asked me to explain the Pandareans. Basically, they're a race of anthropomorphic pandas. For those of you familiar with the Warcraft universe, they're basically the same as the the Pandarens. They even live on a giant turtle!**

**** Tian Gui: The Heavenly Turtle, which is the name of the turtle the Pendareans live on.**

**Until next time, Peace out people!**

**-The Stan Man**


	3. Chapter 3: Home is where family is

**Hey readers! Ready for another chapter of this? Hope you are, cuz here it is! **

**I couldn't get into the groove to write on my Code Geass story's next chapter, so I decided to work on writing the next for is one. **

**Disclaimer: See chapter one's author's notes. Nuff' said.**

* * *

**Chapter Three: Home is where family is. **

**Konoha, mid-day, a year and three months after the Kyuubi's attack. **

Some might say Mao went overboard with his designing of Akane's new home, but she didn't. He had followed her very instructions: Something that stands out, that has enough space, and is cozy yet practical. Well, in a little under six months, that order was fulfilled, and then some!

The building was laid out in an H-shaped plan, with the central branch's axis perpendicular to the Village's wall. The whole construction was made of huge A frames, all cedar, whose tips were buried deep in the ground. The extremities of the H were rounded, and there was a wraparound porch all around the building, the roof provided by the extension off the building's roof well past the walls. That roof was made of red cedar shingles, which were a vivid burgundy color.

The branch of the H facing towards the center of the village housed the kitchen, dining room, storerooms and a large bath. The section facing towards the village walls housed the sleeping quarters, while the section in the middle was wholly occupied by a large communal living room with cathedral ceiling and complete with a huge stone chimney and fireplace. Between the two wings was, on one side, a pleasure garden, complete with a gazebo, covered walkway and a small pond, and on the other side, a vegetable, fruits and herb garden.

All in all, it was much more a mansion than a house. Mao hadn't bothered with figuring out e square footage, he just made it big. Maybe a little too big. True, Zhao, his kin and the other pandareans would be staying with them for the foreseeable future (that was the main reason for the 8½ feet ceilings), but even so, there was still a lot of empty room. To Akane, who was sitting under the gazebo, dressed in a red haori and hakama and looking at her nephew playing with Toshiro's little sister Honoka, it all seemed a bit… wishful.

Hiruzen had succeeded height months ago to get her a majority vote approving the Uzumaki as a Konoha clan, with her as clan head, but only after she and Toshiro had agreed to teach Fuinjutsu to all willing Konoha Ninjas. Shortly after, a declaration was circulated through much of the elemental nations (Akane's ever-travelling and perverted uncle played a big role in this) letting people know that all and any survivors of the Uzumaki clan would be welcomed in Konoha. But so far, only one person had answered it.

Just then, that same person appeared on the porch, having just finished taking a bath and walking to his room; Hisao Uzumaki, 92 years old, but looking to be in his late thirties, had green eyes, tanned skin, and the Uzumaki's trademark red-hair, which he wore into a tight braid that reached is waist. His most distinctive feature was his large, thick mustache. Just under six feet tall, he wore the Konoha headband and flak vest, a black bandana with a long tail over his head that was tied sideways to left, and a long, black jacket, which was slung over his shoulder at the moment. Attached to the back of his belt were two large , red-handled Kukri-type blades, and he had two black handled Kataras strapped to the outer side of his hips.

As he walked-by, he nodded towards Akane, who nodded back. Hisao had arrived a couple of months after the official installation of the Uzumaki clan in Konoha. He didn't speak much, but he had told Akane and the others that he had been away when Whirlpools was attacked and destroyed, and that he lost all his direct family in that event. He wasn't too shabby with Fuinjutsu, but it was clear his specialty was close quarter ninjutsu. Shortly after he arrived, he was tested by the Hokage, and promptly given the rank of Jonin. Since then, he had been doing missions on a regular basis, which made him the only active ninja of Konoha's Uzumaki clan, a fact that at least one person at every council meetings made sure to remind her of.

She dug into the sleeve of her haori, and took out her hip flask. As she took a swig, she heard the familiar rap of a walking cane on wood approaching her.

"Naruto's becoming faster on his feet every day." Toshiro said as he approached her, "Pretty soon we'll have to keep a close eye on him."

"We already have to. This morning, I found him in the rafters in his room."

"Isn't that right?" Toshiro chuckled, "Well, at least he's energetic, and that's a good sign." Then he looked at Akane, and went serious. "What's on your mind?"

"Huh?"

"I've known you for over ten years, and I can tell when you got something on your mind. You had a look on your face while looking at those two. So what is it?"

"I guess I was thinking how small our clan is, and was wishing I could do something to make it bigger. I mean, a direct contribution, if you catch my drift."

Toshiro did catch it, "Wow." He said, pulling out a patio chair and sitting down, "It's the first time I heard you talk about that like this. I thought you considered it a 'blessing' not being able to have children."

"That was when I was busily terrorizing every ninja outside of Fire Country. " Akane said, "Now that I'm retired for a while, I've started really wishing I could have children." She turned to face Toshiro, "Does it ever trouble you, that I'm barren?"

Toshiro scratched the back of his head, "Weeelll, not sure how to answer that." He said, "I mean, sure, I'd like to have children, but if I can't have any with the one woman I love, I'm okay with doing without." That last part actually made Akane blush, "Also, I've been raising Honoka since our father and her mother died, and I'm helping you do the same with Naruto, so yeah, I've been acting as a father for a while now. Besides," he winked at Akane, "we're pretty long lived, so who knows, maybe one day they'll make a medical breakthrough that will allow you to have children of your own."

"Ever the optimist, huh?"

"Me? You're the one who's always "I'll be giving up the day hell freezes over!", and stuff. Between the two of us, I'd say _you _are the optimist."

"Humpf"

"And if you're worried about the clan being too small, I got a piece of good news: Looks like we're getting two new members. An ANBU just dropped this off." He handed Akane a folded piece of paper.

"Why didn't you say that first?" She said, taking the piece of paper.

"Just wanted to make sure you were alright!" Toshiro said, raising his hands.

Akane went over the contents of the message, then sighed.

"So by 'new members', you mean an old woman and a little girl," she said, "Guess I should be thankful"

"_Wait for it, wait for it, wait for iiiiit!"_ Toshiro thought.

Akane frowned "And they're riding a fucking rhino?"

* * *

**35 minutes later, Konoha's gates**

Akane, Toshiro, Liu, the Hokage and two of his personal guards were waiting for the new arrivals, who were now only a short distance from the village. They could see that, indeed, they were riding a large, grey rhino. Of such things is the ninja world made. The beast, most likely a summoned animal , even had a saddle with lots of attached bags in the front and rear sides. It also appeared to be wearing a green melon hat.

They soon were close enough so that Akane could make out the two's appearance. The woman looked to be at around sixty-five by normal standards, so if she was an Uzumaki, she had to be well over a hundred years old. Her hair, which was mostly grey with some red-strands in it, was held into a tight, single bun on the back of her head, with two long hairpins stuck in it. Her wrinkly face was a dark tan color, and she had large, dark green eyes. She was wearing a dark grey cloak over a tunic that was a lighter shade of grey, and she also wore a pair of black trousers and brown leather boots.

The little girl, ridding in front of the old woman and whom at this distance you would have easily missed if you didn't know she was there, looked to be maybe six or seven months older than Naruto. She had fair skin, red eyes, and short, red hair.

"My, my, I didn't expect a welcoming party like this, besides more pups like the ones who accosted us earlier."The woman said as the rhino came to a halt, seemingly on his own volition, right beside the small group. "From that outfit, I gather you're the Hokage, if I'm not mistaken." She said to Hiruzen, who nodded, then the woman looked to Akane, "And you must be the woman that decided to bring back our clan."

"Sure am." Akane said.

"That must've taken some doing," The woman said, showing great agility by getting off the rhino while holding the girl, who clung to the older woman's clothes. The old woman, who was rather short at just over four feet tall, extended her hand, "I am Ushio of the Uzumaki clan."

"Pleasure to meet you." Akane said, shaking he hand, "I'm Akane, also of the Uzumaki clan."

"And this," the old woman nodded at the girl she was holding with her right arm, "Is my grand-daughter, Karin."

"So, you intend to join us?" Akane asked.

Ushio nodded, "Indeed. I'm getting old to be constantly on the road, and it'd be best for Karin to grow up in a village."

"Wait a minute!" Toshiro exclaimed, "Aren't you the Ushio who was a member of Whirlpool's council of elders?"

"Huh?" The old woman said, "Yes, that would be me." Then she squinted at Toshiro, "You wouldn't happen to be one of Daichi's sons, would you?"

Toshiro nodded, "Yes, I'm the second oldest, Toshiro."

"That's good," Ushio nodded, "how many members do you have so far?"

"Only six so far." Akane said.

"What do you mean, _only!?_ " Ushio said, "That's more than I expected. Probably a lot less than you youngsters did it seems, but in any case, that's a start."

The rhino turned his large, melon-hat topped head towards them "Is there any place to get a drink in this joint?" He asked, "Maybe a good cigar?"

Toshiro was a little taken aback by the question. "Errrr, by 'drink', I presume you don't mean water, do you?"

"….well, if there is absolutely nothing else, water would do." the rhino said, sounding a little depressed.

"Don't worry, buddy, Liu here will fix you a drink, "Akane said, tapping the pandarean's vast chest with the palm of her hand.

Liu nodded, "Ha, yes!" The pandarean said in a cheerful voice, "Always glad to help quench the thirst of fellow lovers of fine beverages. Come with me, friend, I'll let you sample my replenished inventory."

Liu started towards the Uzumaki mansion at a brisk pace, and the rhino, with his load of baggage, fell into a trot next to him.

"So, where are you lot staying?" Ushio asked, "Got any place for the two of us?"

"We got lots!" Akane nodded.

* * *

**End of chapter 3**

**So yeah, I decided to cut this chapter at about half the length of the other ones. I wanted to post something before my work week began, and I have things I want to think about regarding the next parts before I actually continue. **

**If you liked the story so far, please leave a review! Got any ideas or suggestions? I'd be glad to heard them, so fire away!**


	4. Chapter 4: This wicked world of ours

**Hey readers! Here is the next chapter for Naruto, Nephew to Whirlpool's Red Demon! **

**I've added two paragraphs in the first chapter's author's notes, clarifying (at least I hope I did) the direction this story will be taking. **

**Disclaimer: see authors notes in chapter one for that.**

* * *

**Chapter 4: This wicked world of ours**

**Konoha, Uzumaki compound, late morning, three years and a little over two months after the Kyuubi's attack. **

Akane was standing in the middle of the training field that was located behind her home. She was wearing her casual outfit, except the sleeves were tied back with a white band of cloth, and she was slightly out of breath and was sweating profusely, her right hand resting on the tip of Jan's hilt, the four and a half feet red blade being stuck tip first in the dirt.

Around her were Cao and his pandarean kin, all of them in training outfits similar to Akane own except they were light green in color, all breathing heavily and each in different stage of exhaustion; The master carpenter himself was sitting cross-legged on the ground, hunched forward, his right paw resting on his large, straight two handed and double hedged sword that was resting across his lap. His oldest younger brother, Zhao Weng*, seven feet tall, who had a long, thick and straight neck beard and kept his hair in a tight bun tied with a cloth on the back of his head, was likewise out of breath but like Akane was standing on his own two feet, and he had a firm grasp on a large Guandao with a bluish blade. Zhao Ying, the family's little sister who had an athletic built and waist length hair tied with a white ribbon at the tip, was leaning forward, hands on her knees while breathing heavily, her staff planted firmly in the ground. Meng and Mao were both lying their back against the ground, their respective weapons, axe and kanas, lying on the ground.

"**Eh, and other training fight bites the dust,"** Jan said, **"Like, literally; looks like we rearranged the landscape more than usual." **

Indeed, the training field's ground was all torn up. There were numerous craters, holes and scars from weapons strikes all over.

"Yeah," Akane said, wiping off the sweat on her forehead, "Training's done for today, guys!" she said, picking up the earthen jar attached to her weapon's belt, uncorking it, and taking a large swig. The pandareans nodded, and started walking towards the mansion, Guan and Ying helping Meng and Mao up to their feet.

"Aren't you youngsters glad I am here," Ushio said with her rough voice, a lit smoking pipe in her mouth as she walked past the pandareans and towards Akane, "just think all the fun you'd had making all this level again by yourself."

"Once again, we're thankful, Ushio-san." Akane said, bowing.

"Humpf," Ushio said, letting a puff of smoke out, "It's the least I can do; after all I'm not paying for the logging nor the food, for me or Karin. Besides, it gives me a chance to use my skills once in a while. Still," Ushio took in all the destruction, "your blade was right, there's more than usual."

"I guess." Akane said, putting Jan back into his sheath. "Let's just say I was working out some frustrations. See you at dinner."

Leaving Ushio to work her magic with her Earth Release upon the training field, Akane followed the pandareans and walked up the short earthen ramp that climbed up to a path leading to the back of her home. On the way, a dozen pandarean cub, Cao's and Meng's offsprings and all of them wearing differently colored outfits, passed her by, each of them holding a hand made kite.

As soon as she walked up the stairs and stepped on the wraparound porch, her blonde ball of energy of a nephew slammed into her leg.

"Aka-nee-chan!" Little Naruto said, looking up at his haunt with a toothy grin. At three years and two months, Naruto reached past her mid-tight. Following him in a much more composed manner were Honoka, now 17, and Toshiro, who was limping after his little sister. The three of them were wearing traditional styled formal outfits, black with red trims, emblazoned with a red Uzumaki crest on the back and front.

Akane ruffled her nephew's hair, "Hey there, Naruto." she said, "I see you're all ready to go."

Naruto nodded, "Yes, ready to go and see Hina-chan!" He said enthusiastically.

Naruto was referring to Hanako's daughter. She and her mother had been the only non-Uzumaki to attend Naruto's birthday two months ago. Now that it was the girl's own birthday, it was only right that they reciprocate, and Akane didn't feel forced one bit: The Hyuuga clan in general might be a little stuck up, they had been the first clan to openly admit that Naruto and the Kyuubi were two different entities, and that the boy himself didn't pose a threat to the village. The fact that they had lost only a few of their members during the fox's attack helped.

"That's good!" Akane smiled, then she turned to the other two, "You three can go ahead, I'm just going to take a quick shower and change."

* * *

**Twenty-five minutes later, Hyuuga compound **

The members of the Hyuuga clan were gathered in their compound's main courtyard. While some in the village felt it wasn't proper for the Hyuugas, being one of Konoha's most preeminent clans, to not attend the treaty proceedings, the Hyuuga were currently celebrating, in their own down-to-earth way, a much more personal, and therefore infinitely more important, event: The third birthday of the grand-daughter of the current Hyuuga clan's Head, which marked the girl has the heiress-apparent of the clan. The girl's name was Hinata, and she was the daughter of Hanako and Hiashi, next in line of succession to head the Clan.

One of the branch member of the clan who had been on guard duty approached Hiashi and his father, and whispered something to them. Hiashi, after looking at his father who simply shrugged, nodded. The branch member then walked away, only to return moments later, followed by the small Uzumaki group, led by Akane, who was wearing an Haori and Hakama in similar colors as the others. She was holding a very large, beige cloth bag that was tied at the top with a large, purple ribbon. Honoka was holding Naruto's hand.

Once the Uzumakis stopped in front of the assembled Hyuuga, Akane set down the bag on the ground.

"We come to bring our congratulations and this gift to your daughter, Hiashi-san." Akane said.

Hiashi nodded, then looked at the package, "What's inside the bag?" He asked.

"It's a gift, Hiashi." Akane said, "The idea is that Hinata finds out what is inside after she opens it. What, worried I'd give her something weird."

The fact of the matter is, there was no way Hiashi could say 'no'. So he didn't, and instead activated his Bkakugan, veins appearing around his eyes, and looked at the bag.

"_Okay, that it, I'm never giving _you_ a gift."_ Akane thought.

Once he saw what was inside, Hiashi relaxed, and de-activated his Byakugan. "I accept the gift for my daughter." He said, "You can open it, Hinata."

Hinata stepped forward, her small hand pulling on the ribbon, unwrapping it easily. As if fell away, so did the bag, revealing a very large stuffed panda, more than twice as big as she was. Hinata touched the plushy's arm.

"So soft." She murmured.

"Indeed it is." Akane said, "Since you liked hanging around Liu when you came around our place, I thought about this. Had it custom made too, so it should last forever." She gave a thumbs up.

"Thank you." Hinata said, bowing slightly.

The Uzumakis stayed for a short while, after which they left the Hyuuga compound, Hinata and her mother seeing them off. As they walked away, having finished waving back, Naruto looked up at Akane.

"Granny Ushio said there would be a big festival tonight." He piped up, "Are we going?"

Akane looked down at her nephew, "Unfortunately, no. I'm tired form my training earlier, and we have some things to do tonight. There some other stuff, too."

"Buuuuuu." Naruto whined.

"Now, now, don't make that face." Akane said, stopping walking and crouching down. "Tell you what, I promise you we'll go to the next one for sure."

"You promise?"

Akane nodded, "Yes. And you know I never go back on a promise; That's my ninja way. But in exchange, you must promise me to stay in the house tonight."

"Hmmmm, okay!" Naruto said, then he raised up a fisted hand, with only his little finger sticking out. "Pinky swear!" He said.

Akane smiled, "Sure" She said, hooking Naruto's little finger with her own. After she counted down from four, they sang the pinky swear song. Then, Akane noticed Shinn walking up to them.

"Yo." The pony tailed man said.

Akane rose up, "Hey," She said, "Are they almost here?"

"Yup." Shinn nodded, "A little over fifteen minutes away."

"Well then," She said to Toshiro, Honoka and Naruto, "I'm going to go check out the procession for a little while. Say, why don't you guys head over to Ichiraku's for some ramen?"

While Naruto raised his hand in the air with a "Yay!", Toshiro sweat dropped, "You're not planning on stirring up a hornet nest, are you?"

"Me? " Akane said, raising her visible eyebrow, "Of course not!" She waved off, "After all, I'm a member of this village's_ honorable _elder's council… even if the rest of the council recommended, not unwisely, that I should abstain from being present at the treaty signing. That, and I purged most of my pissed-offness with the training just earlier. I just want to get a good view of Kumo's head smuck's mug. Maybe raise his blood pressure a little, too, while I'm at it."

* * *

**Twenty minutes later, along the path leading from Konoha's gates. **

The head ninja of Kumogakure, along with a few escorts, had entered the village two minutes earlier, and they were now making their way towards the Hokage Tower along the village's main street, the sides of which were packed full with cheering ninja and civilian alike.

The Head Ninja, the top of his head bandaged and his headband covering his right eye, waved at the greeting crowd, a pleased smirk on his face. For a second, however, he felt something that made the hairs on the back of his neck stand out: Not exactly killing intent, more like… well, the only way he could describe it was like being under the gaze of a predator who's debating whether he should eat you now or later.

The man glanced slightly with his exposed eye in the direction this feeling was coming form. There, in the back! The red haired woman next to the shifty eyed guy and who was smiling like a damn tiger!

"_Akaoni!"_ He thought.

He blinked only once, but that was enough for both the woman and the man, and the feeling, to disappeared. All of it happened in the time it took to lift one foot, bring it forward, and down again.

"_Tsk."_ He thought. _"Guess the reports were true, that looked like the woman who killed the Third. Going to have to watch my back tonight."_

* * *

**Moments later, some distance away, on the roof of Shinn's Ink and Paper Emporium, **

"So," Akane said, "What do you think?"

Shinn, who had sat down on a patio chair with his hand behind his head, looked up for a moment before answering, "Weeeeeell, he certainly looks and feel like a confident, self-serving guy who'd do anything for promotion. Then again, any decently informed ninja could tell you the same." He shrugged, "It's not like I've had months to prepare files and research this guy. What I can say with relative certainty is that you're most likely right and he would wait until the treaty has been signed to do anything. Probably tonight when most of the village is asleep and there the risk of unexpected witnesses is reduced as much as possible."

Akane nodded, "You going to go back at the compound tonight?"

"Me? Hell no!" He shook his head repeatedly, "I'm bunkering down in the shop's basement until all possible danger has passed!"

"Why did I even ask?" Akane sighed. "See you around, then, got a general lockdown 'party' to attend to."

* * *

**The next day, around noon, Konoha council chambers. **

As it turned out, Kumo's head ninja did have an ulterior motive to be in Konoha, but it had nothing to do with Naruto: his target had been Hinata and her Byakugan, of all things.

The nightly kidnap attempt had been foiled, and Hinata rescued, by Hiashi, who had struck the would be kidnaper dead, not knowing his identity. Two days ago it would not have mattered, but now things were different; Kumo was threatening to not only break up the treaty, but to go as far as to immediately declare war on Konoha if justice was not dealt as per the treaty agreement. That meant that the killer, in this case Hiashi, had to lose his own life, never mind the fact he was saving his daughter when he committed the act.

No one was duped for a second, they all knew that restitution was secondary for Kumo, and that what they really wanted was the Byakugan, for Hiashi's bloodline was not sealed with the caged bird seal of the Hyuuga branch family, and could possibly still be extracted after his death.

What pissed off Akane as she sat amongst the other elders was that the majority of the people in the room seriously considered offering Hiashi up to maintain peace was a good deal. Including, it seemed, the Third. They just had a vote, and it had been in majority for Hiahsi's death in exchange for continued peace. Akane had been one of three who had voted against.

"_I know you want to protect the village, old man, but holy hell, you've grown soft!"_ She sheeted inwardly.

The Third stood up, "So it comes to this." He said, "I will go to the Hyuuga clan's compound myself, and inform them of the council's decision."

Before leaving earlier, Hiashi had said he would comply with the will of the village, whatever it may be. Now, just like that, is looked like one of he two greatest clans of Konoha would lose it's heir, a woman would loose her husband, and a just tuned three year old girl would lose her father.

"God damn I hate politics." Akane muttered. She looked over the room to one of the councilors that had voted no: Bloody mother-fucking Danzo! She didn't really appreciate the warhawk, but it looked like they were of like mind on this one; better to fight than bend over to god damned Kumo!

* * *

As it would turn out, Hiashi would not lose his life, even thought he was indeed ready to do so. His brother, Hizashi, took his place. Since he was a branch family member, his Byakugan had been sealed upon his death. Kumo never said anything openly about it, of course, having officially recognized that Konoha had offered suitable compensation, but you could tell by the way the relation stayed tense that they hadn't liked to be made fools of.

The Hyuuga clan still had their heir, Hanako her husband, and Hinata her father. Instead, Hiashi lost his brother, Hizashi's wife lost her husband, and his son, Neji, lost his father. It was a bittersweet trade for everyone involved. Almost everyone in the village believed that Hizashi had been coerced in taking his brother's place. That belief would create an enduring rift between the Hyuuga's main family and branch family, one that would take years to heal.

* * *

**End of chapter 4**

***An internet cookie to whoever gives me the correct answer on who this guy is based on. **

**So, another chapter done. Hope you liked it, readers! If you did, do not forget to leave a review!**

**Until next time, ciao!**

**-Stan. **


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